


foul play

by Stjosten



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: A lil bit of pining, First Kiss, M/M, a little ooc but that's my brand babyy, andrew is just tired, most of the foxes play d&d, neil accidentally flirting, neil likes to cause problems on purpose, people play d&d but they never really play d&d, softer universe, some banter, some light flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29562501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stjosten/pseuds/Stjosten
Summary: Andrew's roommates play D&D. Neil is just a surprising side benefit.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 20
Kudos: 348





	foul play

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Hello! Surprise! I have returned! (sort of).
> 
> I didn't think I would write for this pairing again but I decided to just give it a go for fun. I finished some original works and decided to treat myself. (yeah I decided to award my writing with more writing, I'm a healthy person). Anyway, I wrote this in like a day and did not reread it so I have no idea if it's any good, Bon Appetit. 
> 
> side note: I don't know anything about d&d so there;s no actual d&d playing just some side mentions

Every Thursday at 6 pm Andrew’s roommates play dungeons and dragons. He never understood the game, well he never _tried_ to understand the game. That was mostly because Kevin wasn’t exactly good at explaining things, not without sounding like a pompous asshole, so Andrew refused to give him the time of day. 

There must be something about it because every Thursday Andrew’s apartment turns into a lair for a hodgepodge group of people that normally would never be caught dead in the same room together. How Kevin had found them was beyond Andrew’s understanding. Whey they kept coming was just as much a mystery. 

The only plus side to D&D night was that Andrew was given two hours of undisturbed study time. He never had much of that, especially not between work and classes, so he quietly savoured the few hours where Kevin and Jeremy were all but locked away in the living room and Andrew was given absolute peace. 

The other bonus was that Jeremy ordered take out and always let Andrew get the first pickings of food. In the end D&D, no matter how dreadfully boring, was good for something. 

It was 6 pm. Andrew was on the couch, his feet kicked up on the coffee table with a documentary playing on the TV. Jeremy was in and out, clearing out space in their makeshift dining room, which was really just a table shoved against the far wall of their living room. 

Kevin was nowhere to be found, which had Jeremy itching worse than usual, muttering about useless DMs under his breath. Andrew wasn’t really paying attention to him, which was pretty standard considering that Jeremy moved at the speed of light and Andrew had no patience to keep up with him. Besides Andrew had to finish reading _The Brothers Karamazov_ for class, which was really just shit reading if he was being honest. 

“He doesn’t work on Thursdays,” Jeremy lamented from the other side of the room, “So where the hell is he?” 

“Just play without him,” Andrew droned out. He kept his eyes on the TV but he saw Jeremy throw his arms up in the air from the corner of his eye. 

“He’s our DM!” Jeremy complained, “We literally _can’t_ play without him.” 

“Maybe he got hit by a car,” Andrew said, he leaned his head back and watched as Jeremy glared at him, “Or kidnapped.” 

“That’s not funny,” Jeremy said, pointing at him, “Last year he _did_ get hit by a car because he was texting and walking.” 

Andrew shrugged. “Call him.” 

“I have been calling him,” Jeremy replied with a sigh, “People will be here soon.” 

Andrew opened his mouth to tell Jeremy that it _really_ wasn’t his problem but there was a knock at their apartment door before he could even speak. Jeremy groaned and went straight over, looking through the peephole and sighing. 

“What do I tell them?” Jeremy asked, looking over his shoulder. 

“That Kevin was hit by a car.” 

Jeremy flipped him off and opened the front door. 

Andrew didn’t know Kevin and Jeremy’s D&D friends that well. All he knew was that they weren’t really friends outside of D&D and if they saw each other on campus they had a strict, do not interact rule. 

Andrew sort of wished he had put that rule into place when he answered Kevin and Jeremy’s roommate ad. 

“Hey!” Jeremy said cheerfully, “Come on in!” 

Andrew spared a glance towards the door. It was Dan, Matt, Allison, and Renee, who was by all accounts the least aggravating person that Andrew had ever met. Renee immediately caught sight of him on the couch and beamed, a startling bright smile that had the whole room paling in comparison.

“Andrew,” Renee said with a fondness that no other person had ever used for him before. 

“Renee,” Andrew said, not nearly as fond.

“So I have some bad news,” Jeremy said, clasping his hands together, “Kevin is missing.” 

Dan snorted as Matt said, “What do you mean by ‘Kevin is missing’?” 

“He won’t answer his phone,” Jeremy said, “And I haven’t seen him all day.” 

“Is he with Thea?” Dan asked, she shrugged off her coat and hung it up on the coat rack by the door, “He’s usually with Thea if he’s missing.” 

“Or Neil,” Matt pointed out. 

Renee walked over and sat down on the couch beside Andrew. The view of the TV was now sadly completely blocked by bodies. Andrew leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling instead. Dostoevsky was waiting for him in the other room and it had to be finished by Monday. He just really didn’t want to read it. 

“What are you watching?” Renee asked, ignoring whatever was happening in front of them, “Anything good?” 

“A crime documentary,” Andrew said, “Boring.” 

“Murder is boring?” Renee teased lightly. 

“It is if the guy gets caught.” 

“He won’t answer for me,” Dan said with a shrug, “We’re going to have to skip this week if he doesn’t show up.” 

Matt groaned, “We were so close to finally defeating the hag.” 

“There’s always next week,” Dan said, patting her boyfriend on the shoulder. 

The door opened and all of them turned to watch Kevin make his very late and not very grand appearance. He looked wind swept, his hair sticking up in all directions and his cheeks flushed from the cold air. 

“Where have you been?!” Jeremy asked, “I’ve been calling you!” 

“My phone died,” Kevin said, he shrugged his jacket off and took a deep breath, “I ran into an old friend.” 

Andrew cut Kevin a look which Kevin immediately caught. Andrew knew all about Kevin’s so called “old friends” and most of them were not good. Kevin understood him without a spoken word. He shook his head in answer and Andrew immediately relaxed back into the couch. 

Good. Not his problem.

Thea came in right behind Kevin and then a moment later a third person that Andrew didn’t recognize appeared. Out of the three of them Thea looked the most put together, not a hair out of place. The stranger on the other hand had every single one of his curls out of place and a flush on his cheeks that rivaled Kevin’s.

“Oh and I brought my old friend along,” Kevin said, gesturing to the redhead. 

He looked like he was quietly fuming where he stood, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face that looked rather permanent. 

“Oh!” Dan said, sounding surprised, “Neil?” 

“I said no,” Neil said, his voice was surprisingly deep for someone so small, “Several times. Kevin doesn’t listen.” 

“We used to play D&D when we were kids,” Kevin said with a shrug, he looked nonchalant but Andrew could see the tension in his shoulders as he spoke.

“We _do_ need another mage,” Dan replied thoughtfully. 

Neil sighed and said, “Fine.” But he looked anything but. 

_Interesting_ , Andrew thought, because well he _was_ interesting. And, against Andrew’s better judgement, he couldn’t help but notice that Neil wasn’t hard on the eyes. 

“Andrew,” Jeremy said, “Are you staying?” 

Andrew took that as his queue to get out before they could bully him into playing their pointless game. He lifted his feet off of the coffee table and stood up. 

“Nope,” Andrew said, tucking his hands in his pockets, “Not a chance.” 

Jeremy looked rather disappointed but didn’t protest. “I’m ordering pizza,” Jeremy said, “I’ll let you know when it’s here.” 

Andrew waved him off and escaped back to his bedroom. _The Brothers Karamazov_ wasn’t going to read itself unfortunately, no matter how much Andrew wished it would.

***

The second time Andrew saw Neil wasn’t at D&D night in his apartment but was, unfortunately on campus. Andrew, who wasn’t one to say hello to people in passing, did his best to absolutely ignore the glaringly obvious redhead as he walked across the quad, but against his better judgement Andrew couldn’t help but stare. 

He was someone Kevin knew from _before_ he wound up at Palmetto, which was all Andrew really needed to know about him. It probably also explained all of the scars on his face and arms, the ones that Neil very clearly didn’t care enough about to hide. 

It was all far too interesting for Andrew to just ignore. Which was a problem.

Andrew wasn’t one to meddle or look for gossip but he wanted to ask Kevin what Neil’s deal was, just to satiate his own curiosity. He didn’t, because even if Andrew knew all about Kevin’s unhappy past, Kevin was never really enthusiastic to talk about it. So Andrew kept his questions to himself. 

The third time he saw Neil again was at D&D night in his apartment. 

He showed up with Thea of his own volition, although he still didn’t look thrilled. He took one look at Andrew and Renee on the couch and looked away fast enough to crack his neck. 

Renee looked incredibly amused and Andrew glared at her. 

“What do you know?” Andrew asked her quietly. Renee just shrugged and stood up to join the others without a second thought. 

Andrew went off to his room so he could finish writing his scathing review of _The Brothers Karamazov_ and took some of Jeremy’s take out with him.

Andrew hasn’t spoken a word to Neil once and yet he was far more interested than he should be.

***

“So, who are you?” Neil asked.

Andrew was standing in the kitchen with a beer in his hand and wondering if it was rude to ask someone he just met if he could kiss him. In most situations Andrew would say it wasn’t. But in this situation it felt mildly inappropriate.

“Andrew,” Andrew said, giving Neil a blank look. 

“Right,” Neil replied, he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest, “Just Andrew, then?” 

Kevin was setting up their game night in the other room. Andrew could hear them all chatting and laughing about. For whatever reason Neil was standing in the kitchen talking to _Andrew_ instead of out there where he was probably more welcome. 

“Are you looking for a last name?” Andrew asked, sipping his beer and remaining as casual and disinterested as possible. He wasn’t sure what Neil’s game was here, or if he even had one to begin with. He might just be curious, as curious as Andrew was to be perfectly honest, but Andrew couldn’t really tell. Neil’s eyes were the kind that gave absolutely nothing away, even if they were startlingly bright blue. 

“Maybe,” Neil said, “Do you have one?” 

“Sure,” Andrew replied, “Do you?” 

Neil smirked and it was just as dangerous as the rest of him was. Sharp and twisted like the scars on the side of his cheek.

“Josten,” Neil said, “Although, if you look it up it won’t mean anything. I made it up.” 

“Oh a fake name,” Andrew said with mock interest, “How titillating.”

The worst part was that it _was_. Andrew just didn’t want Neil to figure that out yet. 

“It’s real now,” Neil said, still smirking, still leaning back like he was chatting up an old friend, “Now you.” 

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Minyard.” 

“Ah,” Neil said, “I knew you looked familiar. I know your brother.” 

“How unfortunate for you,” Andrew replied bitterly, he was going to have to ring that information out of Aaron the next time they had their obligatory weekly phone call.

“We have science together,” Neil said, “I almost can’t tell you apart, only Aaron isn’t as-” He stopped and made a point to look at Andrew’s arms, his expression twisted while he thought about what to say, “Buff.” 

“Are you complimenting me?” Andrew asked. This was far more amusing than working on homework. _Far_ more entertaining.

“No?” Neil said, confused, “It’s just obvious, isn’t it?” 

Andrew really had no idea what to make of Neil. Which was the first time in a long time that Andrew was actually stumped. He wasn’t even sure what he was supposed to say to that.

“Don’t you have a game you're supposed to be playing?” Andrew asked.

“Oh definitely,” Neil said, “But they spend the first ten minutes talking and I would rather shove a fork in my eye.” 

Andrew snorted and tried to cover it up by immediately taking a drink of his beer. Neil looked around and added, “I was also supposed to get drinks.” 

Andrew nodded towards the fridge and moved away so Neil could pass him and pull bottles of soda from the fridge. 

Andrew absolutely looked Neil over as he leaned down to get the soda from the fridge. Maybe he should reconsider how weird it would be to proposition Neil in the middle of D&D. 

No definitely _not_ a good idea.

“Thanks,” Neil said, standing up straight and closing the fridge with his foot, “See you ‘round.” 

Andrew didn’t reply, just watched Neil walk out of the kitchen and into the living room. 

It would be much easier to not have to see Neil ever again, but Andrew didn’t think he was that lucky. 

***

The next D&D night Andrew decided not to stay in his room. His excuse was that he was out of things to work on. No new books to read or assignments to complete. His other excuse was that the TV was in the living room and he did sort of want to finish the documentary he started all those weeks ago but never finished. 

Jeremy and Kevin did not care, they were always trying to bully him into staying, hoping that one day he would join them at the table and make a character and follow their every whim. He wasn’t going to give in on that front. Probably. At this point Andrew wasn’t even sure he knew how to say no to them anymore. 

Whatever was happening with their game was tense. Kevin was making dramatic noises and webbing together a very dramatic tail while the others were all leaning forward with their eyebrows furrowed. Neil, Renee, and Allison looked rather unaffected by the whole thing, but the moment it was their turn they took to the game like someone that actually gave a shit. 

Andrew tuned them out but the next moment there was yelling and Jeremy laughing uncontrollable. He looked up in time to hear Kevin say, “Congratulations, Neil. You not only blew up the entire container of supplies but you killed your character.” 

“Whoops,” Neil said, but it sounded like that was his intention since the beginning. 

Kevin sighed, Dan and Jeremy were laughing too hard to say much of anything, and Matt looking like someone had just kicked him in the nuts.

“You’re a disaster,” Matt said with a groan, “All of that work.” 

Neil shrugged and stood up from the table, taking his bottle of water with him, “Good luck on the rest of the campaign.” 

“We’re rolling you a new character next week,” Kevin said. He ruffled through some papers and handed one off to Neil, “Think about what you want and then let me know.” 

“Yes, sir,” Neil said mockingly, taking the paper without protest. 

He walked around the table and fell into the couch next to Andrew, dropping his water and paper on the coffee table in front of him. 

“I don’t want to know,” Andrew said dismissively which made Neil laugh. 

“I wasn’t going to explain it to you,” Neil said, “It was an accident really. I crit failed.” 

“I don’t know what that means,” Andrew said, staring at the TV, “Nor do I care?” 

The game continued on the other side of the room. Their voices raised as they tried to clean up the mess that Neil very obviously left behind. It didn’t really matter to Andrew in the slightest. Neil could ruin their entire campaign or whatever for all Andrew cared. 

Neil didn’t look the tiniest bit upset as he leaned back on the couch and watched the documentary playing in front of him. If anything he looked satisfied with himself, like he didn’t really didn’t want to play in the first place.

“What is this?” Neil asked, gesturing to the TV. 

“Crime documentary,” Andrew answered, “It’s boring.” 

“Oh?” Neil asked, “Why?” 

“It’s only interesting if the guy doesn’t get caught,” Andrew replied, giving him the same answer he gave Renee. 

“Makes sense,” Neil said, Andrew could feel his eyes on him as he said, “Do you like trying to solve cold cases?” 

“No.” 

“So the mystery does nothing for you?” 

Andrew gave him a side look, “I just said it’s more interesting.” 

“But not interesting enough to solve?” 

“Not everything deserves that kind of attention,” Andrew replied.

“Ah,” Neil said, “What _does_ deserve your attention?” 

Andrew really didn’t know why that sounded suggestive, but it did and suddenly Andrew really needed to take a cold shower. 

“Nothing,” Andrew replied. He grabbed his drink from the coffee table and took a sip, just so he could have something to do with his hands. 

“Interesting,” Neil said under his breath. He sounded like he had just learned something about Andrew that Andrew had not intended to give away. 

And wasn’t that just the most infuriating thing.

***

It seemed that, like a fungus, Neil was growing on him. 

They ran into each other on campus and instead of ignoring him Andrew would begrudgingly take Neil’s greeting and then listen while Neil ranted about class or work or whatever the hell else was on his mind.

Neil was rolled back into the D&D game and instead of trying to kill himself off he forced Andrew to help him make his new character and then proceeded to just cause problems for the entire team on purpose. Andrew just kept to himself for the most part but after three weeks Neil had managed to strong arm him to the table with them. 

He had no idea what they were talking about and he really didn’t care enough to keep up but it was more than amusing to watch Neil make mistakes for the hell of it. Everyone other than Kevin and Matt found it hilarious, which only seemed to egg Neil on to keep it up. 

Andrew was just, not sure what was happening. It was as if he was in a waking dream, just sort of awkwardly stumbling around while Neil dragged him along with him. Not that Andrew really gave a shit anymore, it was either he spent his Thursday nights reading some terrible book assignment or he spent it listening to Neil piss off Kevin. There was really no competition in that, considering that all of the books were just plain outdated and boring and Neil was- he was Neil and Andrew was learning rather quickly that he couldn’t say no to him. 

Not that Andrew would want to anyway. There was something about blue eyes and red hair that really did it for him. It had nothing to do with Neil’s attitude or his smart mouth or his accidental flirting. At least that was what Andrew kept telling himself. Because it was better than the truth and the truth was that Andrew was interested in Neil for more than just his looks. And it was all thanks to D&D. 

Andrew didn’t know what was worse. Catching feelings for a problematic enigma or catching those feelings by the direct hand of a paper game that he couldn’t stand. Neither were very good options. Either way Andrew was screwed and not very happy about it.

***

Andrew decided to spend D&D night in his room again. It wasn’t exactly a punishment. It was just the smartest plan of action. If he stayed he would end up being forced to play and if he played he would never hear the end of it.

He didn’t want to play anyway. It was a world he didn’t understand with things that didn’t make sense to him. Even if it was entertaining to hear Neil pissing Kevin off or to hear Renee innocently, or not so innocently, join in with Neil’s chaos. It wasn’t something he wanted. Before _Neil_ he was perfectly happy to spend his Thursday nights holed up in his room getting work done. Before _Neil_ this was what he considered a good night, quiet and alone and out of reach. 

He spent two weeks like that. Not even bothering to come out when food arrived and only emerging from his room when everyone had left. 

On the third week someone knocked on his door at 6:15 pm.

Andrew sighed and stood up, closing the copy of _Crime and Punishment_ he had been trying to endure. He opened the door fully expecting to see Jeremy or even Kevin waiting for him, but instead there was Neil, standing in front of the door with flushed cheeks and an ugly orange sweater on that clashed with his hair. 

“What?” Andrew asked, trying to sound more bored than annoyed. He wasn’t sure if it worked. 

Apparently it didn’t matter either way. Neil ducked around Andrew without touching him and let himself into Andrew’s room. He looked around like he was trying to remember every single detail. He only stopped when he was standing in the center, his eyes catching on the book that was laid out on the bed. 

“Reading?” Neil asked, walking over and picking it up, he flipped it over to read the back and scrunched his nose, “Sounds long.” 

“It is,” Andrew replied. He reached out and took the book away, dropping it down on the bed and out of sight. “What do you want?” 

“I wanted to see why you haven’t been joining us,” Neil said, looking around again, his eyes catching on the desk. He decided to go over and poke around in Andrew’s container of pencils because apparently he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. “But it looks like you’re just _reading_.” 

“I have work to get done,” Andrew said, “I don’t care about your stupid game anyway.” 

Neil raised his hand to his heart in mock pain, “Ouch. Hurtful.” 

Andrew rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Are you done?” 

“Are _you_ done?” Neil countered.

“What does that mean?” 

“You’re avoiding me,” Neil replied, “Or something.” 

Andrew wanted to challenge that. There was no reason for Neil to bring it up unless he wanted to get something out of this. Andrew just wasn’t sure what that something was, so he said, “Why does that matter?” 

Neil chewed on the side of his lip in thought before saying, “I don’t know.” 

“Okay,” Andrew said, “If it’s all settled then, you should go.” 

Neil looked right at him then, his eyes no longer wandering around the room and Andrew, who was not often struck quiet by anything, was silenced by the intensity in Neil’s gaze. 

“I don’t mind talking to you,” Neil said, sounding reluctant, “Or hanging out with you.” 

“You have very low standards,” Andrew replied, “You’re friends with Kevin.” 

Neil looked like he might laugh but all he did was crack a smile that wasn’t as threatening as most of Neil’s smiles. This one was light and easy going. An oddity. 

“It’s not the same,” Neil said. 

Andrew sighed and uncrossed his arms. He wasn’t sure what prompted it but he stepped forward and Neil looked incredibly excited, his eyes shining. Andrew rolled his eyes and said, “I’m only going to ask once.” 

“Uh-Huh,” Neil said. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

Neil nodded and Andrew waited for a verbal response Neil said, “Yeah. Yes. Yup. Yes.” 

Andrew snorted and reached out to take Neil’s face into his hands and kissed him. 

Neil kept his hands to himself, which was surprising considering how he touched everything in Andrew’s room like he owned it, but his hand did end up touching Andrew’s wrist. Andrew was surprised that the touch didn’t immediately send him into a panic. Probably because it was light enough that it wasn’t even there. Like Neil had no idea what to do with his hands anyway. 

Andrew kissed him until Neil was gasping and then Andrew kissed him some more. 

It was all terribly inappropriate and Andrew was busy imagining the other things that he could be doing with his mouth. Neil’s reactions would probably be better than any guy Andrew has ever touched before, considering how he was practically vibrating just from a kiss. 

They pulled apart and Neil almost chased after his mouth but stopped himself. He looked dazed when he looked down at Andrew again, his mouth looking like a bruise.

“Can we do that again?” 

“Don’t you have a game to play?” Andrew asked. 

Neil groaned but smiled and said, “It can wait.” 

He never went back out until it was time to leave. Luckily no one said anything. At least not until the apartment was empty and Kevin decided to give Andrew a lecture about how D&D night is _not_ for hooking up. 

Andrew just brushed him off. Odds were that he would end up wasting far too much time with Neil and it wasn’t just going to be on Thursdays.


End file.
